Monkeys and Sunshine

I love the beach. Yes, because of the feeling of the sand between my toes, the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, and the fact that you can just lay around all day and no one thinks of you as being lazy because they're all doing the same thing! But, I also like the beach for another reason. You know how some places just automatically make you feel closer to God? Well the beach is one of those places for me. I enjoy going to the beach with people, but I always have to get away by myself for a little while, just to spend some time praying and being still. As I walked along Manuel Antonio beach, I thought about the part of the creation story when God separated the land and the water:

Then God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place and let the dry land appear." And it was so. God called the gathering of the water "seas." And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:9-10

As you look at these pictures, remember that God spoke all of this into existence. I think sometimes I dismiss the fact that God wants us to enjoy His creation, but after being here in Costa Rica, I will never look at the sky, the sea, or the land in the same way. :)












Thursday after class we took a 4-hour bus ride to Quepos, which is where our hotel, The Blue Monkey, was. (Quepos is a little town about 5 miles outside of Manuel Antonio.) By the time we arrived, it was dark and pouring down rain. Luckily, our hotel just happened to be right beside the spot where the bus dropped us off! By the time we got settled in our rooms, we were so hungry. Our original plan was to find a grocery store and buy a loaf of bread to make PB&J sandwiches, but going anywhere was out of the question. Therefore, we just ate in the restaurant of the hotel. The next morning brought lots of sunshine! We had an early breakfast and then walked to the nearest store to get supplies for lunch and dinner... which was PB&J... for three meals. Haha! We then got on the bus to go to Manuel Antonio. Once we got there, the group split up because we wanted to go to different beaches. Amy, Hannah, and I walked down to the National Park, and the other girls stayed on the main public beach. To get to the beach inside the National Park, we got to walk through the rainforest! We saw several sloths and many different kinds of birds. Once we got down on the beach, we started seeing the monkeys we had been hearing so much about! After we found a spot to put our towels down, we had to find a stick to fight the monkeys away from our lunch! The three of us could not go in the water at the same time, because someone had to watch our bags... Not because a person might steal them, but because a monkey would! It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.


They may be cute, but they are SNEAKY!

After a few hours, we decided to walk up to Punta Catedral, which has an awesome view over the ocean. I should actually use the word "hike" instead of walk, because that's what we did. And I was obviously not prepared, as I was wearing flip-flops! Haha! We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sand and the water, and when we felt a few raindrops, we headed back out to the main road. While waiting for the bus, we browsed through a couple of the tourist shops.

This morning, we slept in a little later (Is it sad that 7:30 is now "late" for me?) and had a hearty breakfast of pancakes! I got banana pancakes because I've never had them before, and I have to say I'm a huge fan. I mean I figured they were good if Jack Johnson had a song about them, but now I know! (Mom, please learn how to make banana pancakes.) After breakfast, I went and swam a few laps in the pool before getting ready to leave. Our bus ride back only lasted 3 1/2 hours, which we were all very happy about. Mama Tica had clean laundry and a wonderful meal ready for us when we got home!

One more week!